1. Field of the Invention
The present Invention relates to a device that melts and recycles soap during a soaking procedure.
2. Background of the Prior Art
In a typical Hotel, most guests tend to stay only a few nights. Each guest room is provided with one or more bars of soap as the guest has time to use only a small portion of such bars, the remainder of the bars are discarded, resulting in a waste of most of the soap bar. This soap waste is especially acute in Hotels that change out the soap bars each day regardless of the minimality of the use of the bar.
A large portion of Hotels have on site laundry facilities for use by Hotel personnel. These laundry facilities are used to launder the bed sheets and towels of the guest rooms as well as the towels and tablecloths of the Hotel""s eateries. Even the best washing machines found in a Hotel laundry do not achieve the level of cleanliness that managers like.
It would be advantageous to apply the cleaning power of the currently discarded bars of soap to complement the washing procedures found in a Hotel laundry.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a device that will melt discarded soap bits during a soaking period in order to complement the regular laundry process and to improve the cleanliness of the product being washed. Such a device must be of relatively simple design, operation, and capable of melting soap into a soap laden solution and should be utilizable with washing facilities found within most Hotels, Restaurants, and the like, with a utility sink on the premises.
The recycling system of the present invention addresses the aforementioned needs in the art. The recycling system provides a device that melts bits of soap, such as discarded bits of soap bars, during a soaking procedure employing soapy water, thereby improving the cleanliness of the washed product. The device is simple in design and operation and can be used within a typical sink found within most target facilities.
The recycling system of the present invention is comprised of a chamber having a first opening, a second opening, and at least one intake opening. A lid can be removably attached to the chamber. A screen and pump having an outlet port are disposed within the chamber. A tube member has a first end secured to the first opening, a second end secured to the second opening, at least one side wall, and at least one third opening. A first conduit is disposed within the tube member and is fluid flow connected to the outlet port while at least one first jet is fluid flow connected to the first conduit and passes through the at least one side wall. A second conduit is disposed within the tube member and is also fluid flow connected to the outlet port by way of a Y-fitting that is also connected to the first conduit. At least one second jet is fluid flow connected to the first conduit and passed though the at least one side wall. Each of at least one first jet is disposed at a first radial angle relative to the tube member and each of the at least one second jet is disposed at a second radial angle (or angles) relative to the tube member that are different to the first radial angle of the first conduit. A fluid level switch is disposed within the tube member and is operatively connected to the pump for controlling the pump whenever fluid within the tube member drops below a certain level. Alternately, the chamber may have only one opening and the tube member extends in one direction therefrom with only one conduit extending within the tube member. As a further alternative, the chamber may have only one opening and the tube member that extends from this opening has a closed loop thereof, the ends of the closed loop meeting at the Y-fitting with the remaining end of the Y-fitting connected to the chamber. The two conduits are linked at a second Y-fitting with the remaining end of this Y-fitting fluid flow connected to the outlet port of the pump.
Soap is placed onto the screen within the device and the device is placed into a sink. The pump is activated and the pump pulls water through the intake openings of the chamber, pulls the water down over the soap on the screen and pumps it into the conduits and out through the jets, releasing the soap laden water into the sink and creating sufficient turbulence within the sink to clean the products therein. The pump also draws operating water through at least one third opening located on the tube member.